Furniture fitting, specifically for detachable suspension of a sliding door from a guide rail

ABSTRACT

A fitting, especially for detachably suspending a sliding door from a guide rail, which comprises a hanger guided in a guide rail and a holder sunk into a recess at the top end of the sliding door and connectable to the sliding door so that the weight of the sliding door is carried by the guide rail through the intervention of the holder and the hanger, the holder comprising two jaws connected to the hanger and also comprising means, e.g., an eccentric cam, for spreading the jaws radially apart so that contact pressure will secure the holder in the above mentioned recess positively to the sliding door.

1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1969 Ziegler 49 409 U United States Patent 11 1 1111 3,808,633 Lauterbach May 7, 1974 [54] FURNITURE FITTING, SPECIFICALLY FOR 808,992 1/1906 Lawson 282/D1G. 8

DETACHABLE SUSPENSION OF A sunmc i oy e DOOR FROM A GUIDE RAIL 2,357,711 9/1944 Vinson [75] Inventor; Heinrich Lauterbach, Numberg, 3,591,984 7/1971 Lauterbach 16/87 R X Germany [73 Assignee: Trola-Kunststoffer-Zeugnisse GmbH Primary Examiner-Bobby y & C Numberg Germany Assistant Examiner-Peter A. Aschenbrenner Fl d M r 2 9 2 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Walter Becker 1 e r a I 21 A 1. N .1231 247 1 pp 0 57 ABSTRACT [30] Foreign A i t priority Data fitting,'especially for detachably suspending a slid- M a r 4 1971 Germany 2110360 mg door from a guide rail, wh1ch comprises a hanger guided in a guide rail and a holder sunk into a recess at the top end of the sliding door and connectable to [52] .U's' CL g the sliding door so that the weight of the sliding door [51] Int Cl Eosd 13/02 is carried by the guide rail through the'intervention of {58] Field l6 /87 1 the holder and the hanger, the holder comprising two 49/4o9'287/DIG f jaws connected to the hanger and also comprising 151/19 24/230 A 230F 5 D i means, e.g., an eccentric cam, for spreading the jaws radially apart so that contact pressure will secure the [56] References Cited holder in the above mentioned recess positively to the sliding door. g

20 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures FURNITURE FITTING, SPECIFICALLY FOR DETACIIABLE SUSPENSION OF A SLIDING DOOR FROM A GUIDE RAIL The invention relates to a fitting, more specifically to a device for detachably suspending a sliding door from a guide rail, having a hanger member guided in the guide rail and a body member formed to be flushmounted in a recess at the top of the sliding door and conneetable to the sliding door, whereby the weight of the sliding door is suspended from the guide rail via the holder and hanger members.

It has been known to guide the leaves of sliding doors and similar objects axially on guide rails and to hang these leaves by means of fittings from the rails in a manner that the leaves can be slid in both directions axially without any great effort. These known fittings for suspending the leaves from guide rails consist of a member running on the flanges of a C-shaped rail and a member attached to the door leaf to be carried at or near thetop of the door leaf.

One known fitting of this type is formed by a plateshaped web having at its one end a headpiece and at its other end a foot piece. The head piece is designed as a slider and has shoulders symmetrically to its longitudinal center plane by means of which the slider bears on the flanges of a D-shaped rail. The footpiece provided at the-bottom endof the web is formed as a cylinder and much thicker'than the web. The thickness or rather depth of this cylinder is such that its one flat end coincides with the web and its other end which is also flat extends into a recess at the top end of the sliding door leaf. This latter flat end and the adjoining cylindri cal portion extend into the recess deep enough to provide a support for the sliding door leaf. With a view to providing good contact, the recess in the top end of the sliding door is formed as a cylindrical hole and made with a slightly larger diameter than the cylinder. The

' web which connects the head piece with the foot piece of the fitting is recessed in a vertical slot extending from the cylindrical hole to the top edge of the door leaf. For the purpose of fastening the web to the leaf of the sliding door, the web is provided with a hole above the cylinder to receive a screw to be driven into the door. Furthermore, the web is formed with a half-round lug at a point above the cylinder to assist alignment which lug extends into a further recess at the edge of the door leaf to the same depth as the cylinder. The screw serving to fasten the web to the door leaf is inserted into a projection between the cylinder and the lug. While this type of fitting affords a relatively good suspension of a sliding door from a guide rail, it is considered to be inconvenient inasmuch as the top end of the door leaf requires extensive preparations without eliminating the need for subsequent operations, such as inserting the screw into the door leaf, etc. In addition, the recesses required for mounting the fitting can be made only by means of special tools to the degree of accuracy required which is liable to cause difficulties especially where fittings are attached outside the workshop, e.g. at the site of construction (status of the art as reflected by German Preliminary Specification 1,252,559).

With a view to avoiding such difficulties in applying the fittings, it has been further proposed to subdivide the fitting into a base body and an extensible part, the base body being cup-shaped in the recess and provided with internal retaining means for the extensible part. The base body, preferably of cylindrical or nearcylindrical shape, is insertable in a recess of corresponding diameter at or near the top end of the door leaf in which it is secured by the interlocking action of serrations provided on its cylindrical perimeter.

The extensible part consisting of a head member sliding in the guide rail, an adjoining neck part and, adjoining to this, a shaft, is guided with said shaft in a hole of the base body in which it can be moved both up and down as well as tumed. The shaft is fitted with a grip element by means of which the extensible part can be moved and brought into two extreme positions and an intermediate position in the base body. In order toreduce the length of the shaft of the extensible part, the

. base body is shaped as a circle with a segment cut off,

the base of the segmented circle coinciding with the edge-line of the door leaf. This design of the base body calls for a cylindrical recess at the edge of the door leaf whose cylindrical shape is reduced by the same circular segment. While these fittings afford accurate hanging of a sliding door from a guide rail, the desirability has frequently been expressed of making the fittings suitable for heavy door designs and, furthermore, of improving them so that they can be conveniently mounted and removed again from the sliding door (status of the art as reflected by German Patent Application P l7 59 934.7).

This is the starting point of the present invention which has for its object to meet these requirements and also to improve the last mentioned fitting so as to simplify production and to reduce production costs.

According to the invention, this object is achieved in a fitting of the type initially referred to by forming the holder with two jaws connected to the hanger and providing radially spreading means, such as an eccentric cam, to lock the holder positively in the recess.

These features combine to provide a fitting, in partic ular for suspending sliding doors from guide rails, that will not only advantageously solve the problem outlined above but, in addition, permit easy alignment and installation of the sliding door. Furthermore, it is no longer necessary with this fitting for the fitting to be accurately positioned in the sliding door or the recesses provided in it before installing the sliding door leaf, it being possible for the door leaf to be loosely hung from each fitting to be aligned and then the jaws are spread to lock the fitting positively. An added advantage of the invention is in the fact that spreading of the jaws for positive locking in the door leaf is very simple so that these operations can be performed by one person. The straightforward design of the fitting is a further asset which permits production at relatively low cost making it specially suitable for mass production.

An advantageous version of the fitting according to the invention has the holder designed with an annular shape with the spreading means, e.g., an eccentric cam, located in its center. This design of the holder offers an advantage in that the recess to be provided for it in the door leaf can be produced with a simple tool, e.g., an auger bit or a router.

According to a further advantageous feature of the invention, the holder is made flat at the level of the top edge of the sliding door and has the jaws connected to the hanger member at or near this flat portion or segment line. This flat portion or rather segment face enables the holder to be applied direct at the edge of the sliding door top so that the fitting can be placed with relative convenience in a concealed location. Furthermore, this arrangement offers the advantage that, apart from the aforementioned recess to accommodate the holder, the door leaf need have no further recesses which also considerably simplifies the cutting of the recess.

According to a further feature of the invention, both the jaws and the eccentric cam are provided with elements of a twist lock arranged so that the elements on the jaws are connectable to those of the eccentric cam. This possibility of locking the jaws, which axiomatically can be done in a spread position of the jaws and/or in a retracted position of the jaws, insures that the jaws can be accurately located in either position of the jaws. With the jaws thus positively locked in the spread position, the contact pressure securing the fitting in the recess cannot unintentionally be released or loosened. If applied in the retracted position, the twist lock offers the advantage of holding'the eccentric cam captive between the jaws and preventing its loss during transport and handling. As a resultof all parts of the fitting being thus kept together, it cannot happen that some parts of the fitting are not available for installation in the workshop or worse at the site of construction.

With a view to making the fitting as a simple moulding, preferably of a plastic material, such as nylon, polyamide etc., its elements, i.e., the hanger and the jaws, form an integral unit, so that only the eccentric cam has to be made separately and pushed between the jaws. Preferably, the eccentric cam is also a plastic moulding.

For applications where a roller-type hanger is notrequ'ired, it is possible according to the invention to design the hanger with a sliding head in the guide rail. This slider, which same as the jaws of the holder is made of the same plastic materialfhas good sliding properties so that running noise in the guide rail is minimized.

According to another advantageous feature of the invention, the spreading element, say an eccentric cam, can be shaped as a socket with a recess to receive a wrench key. With the tool inserted in the socketrecess, the spreading element can be very easily turned into a locked or unlocked position by rotating the tool clockwise or anti-clockwise.

Depending on the weight of the door to be hung from the guide rail, it is possible according toa further feature of the invention, to make the length of the slider equal to the length of the segment line or flat top. In

other words, the'fitting will bear on the flanges of the guide rail with a greater area so that, in spite of carrying a relatively heavy door leaf, the reduced unit pressure affords easy movement of the door. The length of the slider can be further increased by either increasing the diameter of the holder or by deepening the imaginary segment removed, i.e., shifting the segment line towards the center of the circle inscribing the holder.

and design of these webs, it is possible to graduate the amount of spring action produced.

In the event of the contact pressure alone being not quite sufficient to lock the jaws of the holder in the recess in the door leaf, it is possible according to a further feature of the invention to provide the holder, or its jaws respectively, with serrations'or a conical bead, what is called a tooth segment, on its convex surface to interlock with the surface of the recess.

The accompanying drawing shows a typical embodiment of the invention as applied to the suspension of sliding doors from a guide rail using an eccentric cam for spreading the jaws. The drawing includes the following schematic representations:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a fitting as installed,

' FIG. 2 is an end view of the fitting shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a section through the plane I-I in FIG. I, excluding the eccentric cam and the door leaf,

FIG. 4 is a top view of the fitting shown in FIG. I,

FIG. 5 is a rear view of the fitting shown in FIG. 1,

' FIG. 8 is a rear view of the eccentric cam shown in FIG. I, 2, 4 and 5,

FIG. 9 is a side view of the eccentric cam shown in FIG. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 8,,and

FIG. 10 is a section through the eccentric cam in the 'plane II-II in FIG. 9.

The fitting according to the invention is essentially formed by a hanger I and a holder 2 with an eccentric cam 3, of which the hanger is insertable into a guide rail 4 and the holder registers in a recess 5 of a sliding door leaf 6. Depending on the design of the hanger 1, this may take the form of a slider, as in the case of the embodiment described and illustrated, or a roller type runner, and the holder 2 may be of cylindrical or near cylindrical shape, as described in the specification, or may have any other basic shape. The holder 2 has two jaws 7 which can be spread radially to lock it in the recess 5 of the sliding door leaf 6, preferably by a sufficiently high contact pressureto transmit the load, an eccentric cam 3 arranged between the jaws 7 being tumed'to produce thelockedand unlocked positions.

- The holder 2 is provided with an elliptical or cylindrical opening 8 at its center, i.e., between its jaws 7, into which the eccentric cam 3 is insertable and rotatable in either direction for the purpose of locking and unlocking the holder. The jaws 7, which preferably are formed with a convex surface, are firmly connected to the slider of the hanger 1, preferably by means of a web 9. The other, unconnected, ends of the jaws 7 have a gap 10 between them which extends across the hole 8 and a further gap 11 between the webs 9 to the slider 1. In order that the jaws 7 may be retained in their locked or unlocked position, the eccentric cam 3 has hookshaped projections 12 on its surface which snap onto raised faces 13 provided on the jaws as the eccentric cam is turned; In the embodiment illustrated, the eccentric cam 3 has only the projections 12 which serve to lock the jaws 7 outside the recess 5, i.e., during shipment and handling. For the purpose of locking the jaws 7 in their spread position, the embodiment illustrated provides for the eccentric cam 3 to be turned beyond a dead center into a position where unintentional disengagement is not possible. The eccentric cam 3 is designed in this example as a socket formed with a multiface recess 14 to receive a wrench key by means of which the eccentric cam can be turned into the aforementioned positions. Depending on the method of installing the fitting, i.e., the distance between its center and the edge of the door leaf 6, the cylindrical shape of the fitting is flattened at the top door edge, i.e., its cylindrical-shape is reduced by a circular segment at the top, i.e., to the segment line 15. The reduction of the depth of the fitting by a segment is proportioned so that there is sufficient bearing area left at the jaws 7 to engage the supporting areas of the recess 5. Where the fitting according to the invention is used for carrying heavy doors or other leaf elements 6, it is possible either to increase the diameter of the holder 2m to reduce the segment of the circle while I at the same time making the spreading parts of the holder thicker. The proportions of the segment line and the slider 1 can be looked upon as being at an optimum when the length of the slider is equal to the length of the segment line. This permits a good bearing area to be obtained of the slider 1 on the guide rail 4 so that the unit pressure acting on the guide rail is a function of the length of the slider. Since, in this fashion, the unit pressure remains within acceptable limits in spite of relatively heavy door leaves 6, movement of the door leaves is possible without any great effort.

In cases where a greater bearing load has to be accommodated, it is also possible to design the slider l with a length greater than the length of the segment line 15. Also, it is possible to connect the jaws 7 to the slider I by means of stronger and, particularly, wider webs to the slider instead of the webs 9 described earlier.

In all the embodiments referred to above, the door leaf 6 is carried on the convex surfaces of the jaws 7 bearing against the recess 5 in the door leaf. In other words, the door leaf 6 rests on these convex surfaces and is positively connected with the holder 2 by a sufficiently high contact pressure to transmit the load produced by spreading the jaws 7 with the aid of the eccentric cam 3. Installation of the fitting in the sliding door leaf 6 is effected in a manner that the fitting, which comes .with the jaws 7 retracted, is slid with its slider into the hollow guide rail 4 to be then placed in the recess 5 provided previously in the sliding door leaf. At this stage, the jaws 7 of the fitting are relaxed and may be locked in this position by the projections 12 onthe eccentric cam 3 engaging raised faces 13 on the jaws. When the sliding door leaf 6 has been aligned in the proper hanging position, a wrench key is inserted into the socket of the eccentric cam 3 and this is turned by rotating the tool. Turning of the eccentric cam 3 causes its eccentric surface 16 to press against the inside of the jaws 7 so that the jaws in turn are spread radially outwards. Spreading of the jaws 7 is continued until their convex surfaces are practically in full contact with the surfaces of the recess 5 in the door leaf 6. ln this position, the jaws 7 are again locked by the eccentric cam 3 having been moved beyond a dead center or detents 17 which prevents it from returning into the unlocked position without any renewed effort, i.e., renewed insertion and turning of the tool. The contact pressure produced in this manner between the holder 2 and the door leaf 6 provides a positive connection between the holder and the door so that their alignment is maintained. In this locked position of the holder 2, the segment line 15 of the circle coincides with the top edge of the door leaf so that the flat top of the holder is preferably flush with the top edge of the door. The jaws 7 rely for the hinge effect entirely on the elastic properties of the material, the deflection on spreading the jaws being accommodated by the webs 9 only. On operating the tool in the socket to turn back the eccentric cam 3, the jaws are returned into their initial position by the restoring force in the webs 9 so as to permit removal of the fitting from the door leaf 6. In the embodiment illustrated, the fitting is completely sunk into a recess 5 in the sliding door leaf 6 so that its side surface is flush with the door surface. It is obviously possible to conceal the holder 2 by means of some cover and, for this purpose, the socket of the eccentric cam may be provided with a detent to hold such a cover in position.

For the purpose of accurate positioning of the holder 2 in the recess 5, the jaws 7 may be provided on their convex surfaces with a conical bead, such as a segment tooth 18 or a similar projection which is pressed into the recess and maintains the holder perpendicular to its base surface.

The element used for spreading the jaws 7, which in the embodiment illustrated is an eccentric cam 3, may be designed as a screw or similar element having eccentric surfaces. The essential feature of the element used for this purpose is that it will radially spread the jaws 7 and maintain them in the spread position.

I claim:

1. A fitting, especially for detachably suspending a sliding door from a guide rail comprising in combination a hanger guided in a guide rail and a holder sunk into a recess at the top end of the sliding door and connectable to the sliding door whereby the weight of the sliding door is carried via the holder and the hanger from the guide rail, said holder consisting of two jaws connected to the hanger and an eccentric cam element causing the jaws to be spread radially so that contact pressure secures the holder positively in the recess relative to the sliding door.

2. A fitting in combination according to claim 1, in which the holder is of annular shape and has the spreading eccentric cam element located at its center.

3. A fitting in combination according to claim 1, in which the holder is flat-topped at the level of the top of the sliding door and the jaws are connected to the hanger at least near this fiat top.

4. A fitting in combination according to claim 1, in which the jaws and the eccentric cam element are both provided with mating portions of a twist lock means, said portions of twist lock means on the jaws being connectable to those of the eccentric cam element.

5. A fitting in combination according to claim 4, in which the mating portions of said twist lock means provided on the jaws are in the form of raised faces and those on the eccentric cam elements are in the form of hooks snapping on the raised faces.

6. A fitting in combination according to claim 1, in which the hanger and the jaws form an integral piece.

7. A fitting in combination according to claim 1, in which the hanger is a slider.

8. A fitting in combination according to claim 1, in which the eccentric cam element is provided with a socket having faces in the recess to receive a wrench key.

9. A fitting in combination according to claim 7, in which the length of the slider corresponds to the length of the flat top of the holder.

10. A fitting in combination according to claim 7, in which the jaws are provided with webs at their ends adjoining the slider and are connected by means of these webs to the slider.

11. A fitting in combination according to claim 10, in which the webs and the free ends of the jaws are separated by a free gap.

12. A fitting in combination according to claim 1, in which there is a convex surface of the holder provided with at least one segment tooth projection to interlock with the recess.

13. A fitting especially for releasable hanging of a sliding door on a guide rail, comprising: a hanger body having a head portion embodied as a guide means connectable to the guide rail and a base portion embodied as a holding means connectable to the sliding door, both the sliding door and guide rail having recess means respectively formed therewith and into which said head portion and said base portion respectively are insertably connectable into mating relationship, said holding means including two radially spreadable jaws yieldably joined onto said head portion, said jaws being joined to each other only by way of said head portion and at location remote from said head portion being capable of being spread apart, an eccentric cam means insertable between said jaws to be radially 8 spread apart, and projecting means between said jaws to arrest said jaws in at least either of two locking positions.

14. A fitting according to claim 13, in which said base portion with exception of a circular segment has a predominantly circular form, said head portion being joined to the circular segment which connects with said jaws.

15. A fitting according to claim 13, in which both said jaws and said eccentric cam means are provided with mating bayonet fasteners connectable with each other.

16. A fitting according to claim 13 in which there is an unreleasable though yieldable slide connection between said head portion and said base portion.

17. A fitting according to claim 16 in which the web connection corresponds in length to the circular segment.

18. A fitting according to claim 16 in which there are webs provided by said jaws formed with said base portion at the holding means on said head portion, said webs alone forming connection to said head portion.

19. A fitting according to claim 13 including asleeve means formed into said eccentric cam means radially to spread said jaws, said sleeve means providing multiface surfaces serving as a movable tool to effect spreading of said jaws.

20. A fitting according to claim 13, in which at least one segment tooth projection means protruding outwardly from at least one of said jaws dips into periphery of recess means of the sliding door.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF C CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No; 3 808 633 Dated May 7 1974 I Heinrich Lauterbach rs in the above-identified patent by corrected as shown below:

Inventor(s) It is certified that error appea and that said Letters Patent are here On the eover sheet the assignee. should read Trola=-Kunststoffer'zeugnisse GmBH G Co.

(SEAL) Attest:

c. MARSHALL: DANN McCOY M. GIBSON JR. I Attesting Officer Commissiener of Patents 7 USCOMM-DC 60ampm: v U- SI GOVE RNMENT PRINYING OFFICE: 8 69- FORM PO-IOSO (IO-69)- 

1. A fitting, especially for detachably suspending a sliding door from a guide rail comprising in combination a hanger guided in a guide rail and a holder sunk into a recess at the top end of the sliding door and connectable to the sliding door whereby the weight of the sliding door is carried via the holder and the hanger from the guide rail, said holder consisting of two jaws connected to the hanger and an eccentric cam element causing the jaws to be spread radially so that contact pressure secures the holder positively in the recess relative to the sliding door.
 2. A fitting in combination according to claim 1, in which the holder is of annular shape and has the spreading eccentric cam element located at its center.
 3. A fitting in combination according to claim 1, in which the holder is flat-topped at the level of the top of the sliding door and the jaws are connected to the hanger at least near this flat top.
 4. A fitting in combination according to claim 1, in which the jaws and the eccentric cam element are both provided with mating portions of a twist lock means, said portions of twist lock means on the jaws being connectable to those of the eccentric cam element.
 5. A fitting in combination according to claim 4, in which the mating portions of said twist lock means provided on the jaws are in the form of raised faces and those on the eccentric cam elements are in the form of hooks snapping on the raised faces.
 6. A fitting in combination according to claim 1, in which the hanger and the jaws form an integral piece.
 7. A fitting in combination according to claim 1, in which the hanger is a slider.
 8. A fitting in combination according to claim 1, in which the eccentric cam element is provided with a socket having faces in the recess to receive a wrench key.
 9. A fitting in combination according to claim 7, in which the length of the slider corresponds to the length of the flat top of the holder.
 10. A fitting in combination according to claim 7, in which the jaws are provided with webs at their ends adjoining the slider and are connected by means of these webs to the slider.
 11. A fitting in combination according to claim 10, in which the webs and the free ends of the jaws are separated by a free gap.
 12. A fitting in combination according to claim 1, in which there is a convex surface of the holder provided with at least one segment tooth projection to interlock with the recess.
 13. A fitting especially for releasable hanging of a sliding door on a guide rail, comprising: a hanger body having a head portion embodied as a guide means connectable to the guide rail and a base portion embodied as a holding means connectable to the sliding door, both the sliding door and guide rail having recess means respectively formed therewith and into which said head portion and said base portion respectively are insertably connectable into mating relationship, said holding means including two radially spreadable jaws yieldably joined onto said head portion, said jaws being joined to each other only by way of said head portion and at location remote from said head portion being capable of being spread apart, an eccentric cam means insertable between said jaws to be radially spread apart, and projecting means between said jaws to arrest said jaws in at least either of two locking positions.
 14. A fitting according to claim 13, in which said base portion with exception of a circular segment has a predominantly circulaR form, said head portion being joined to the circular segment which connects with said jaws.
 15. A fitting according to claim 13, in which both said jaws and said eccentric cam means are provided with mating bayonet fasteners connectable with each other.
 16. A fitting according to claim 13 in which there is an unreleasable though yieldable slide connection between said head portion and said base portion.
 17. A fitting according to claim 16 in which the web connection corresponds in length to the circular segment.
 18. A fitting according to claim 16 in which there are webs provided by said jaws formed with said base portion at the holding means on said head portion, said webs alone forming connection to said head portion.
 19. A fitting according to claim 13 including a sleeve means formed into said eccentric cam means radially to spread said jaws, said sleeve means providing multi-face surfaces serving as a movable tool to effect spreading of said jaws.
 20. A fitting according to claim 13, in which at least one segment tooth projection means protruding outwardly from at least one of said jaws dips into periphery of recess means of the sliding door. 